All-Star weekend take away…

Kobe Bryant is trying to make himself relevant by playing shutdown defense and talking smack with LeBron at the All- Star game.

LeBron James is the best basketball player on the planet. There is no disputing it.

Kobe Bryant is a great scorer. I never thought he was a great leader. This year’s Lakers debacle once again shows Kobe can’t lead a team. He can’t say that the Lakers didn’t have enough talent on the team. Dwight Howard and Steve Nash are two players who have won many accolades during their NBA careers. Ron Artest was a key member of the Lakers’ last championship team.

Yet Kobe blames everybody but himself for the lack of team chemistry and leadership. Mike Brown was fired early into the season and was portrayed as the problem. He must be feeling better now because clearly the team hasn’t really played much better with Mike D’Antoni as coach.

Can anybody please explain to me why Steve Nash is in a commercial with Magic Johnson and Chris Paul? Unfortunately, Nash has 2 MVP awards, which make him one of the all-time greats. It is my biggest pet peeve that he won 2 MVP awards. I believe he deserved 1(the second one only). Nash is not one of the NBA’s top-5 point guards of all-time.

A two-time MVP couldn’t help the dysfunctional Lakers get together and challenge for home court advantage in the NBA playoffs. Instead, they are fighting for their playoff lives.

I have a feeling Chris Paul won’t sign with the Clippers in the summer. The Los Angeles Clippers should’ve signed him during the season. Paul is saying he is happy being a Clipper and wants to stay with the franchise. Raptors and Cavaliers fans remember what happened to those organizations when the stars left for Miami. There is no rumour presently saying that Paul is leaving. It is just a feeling that I’m getting.

I’m happy the Toronto Raptors’ Terrence Ross won the dunk contest. I hope he doesn’t become the next Gerald Green. Green has been in the NBA seven years during which he won the 2007 dunk contest andappeared in a few other dunk contests. He has made absolutely no impact in the NBA.

The dunk contest should be eliminated from the All-Star weekend. I see much better dunks on You Tube from players who aren’t in the NBA.

I was impressed by Kyrie Irving winning the 3-point contest this weekend.

The All-Star game itself was boring. The NBA can’t force players to play harder. An idea that is circulating right now is to add 3 roster spots to each team. This may lead to a more competitive game.

I have been involved in park basketball games which were much better game than the All-Star game.

Enjoy the second half of the season!

Vince Carter the greatest player in Raptor history…

Vince Carter or Vinsanity during his peak has scored 21 427 points in his career so far. He will never pass 30 000 points.  I believed Carter would have been one of the greatest players from his generation after watching his first 6 years in the league representing the Toronto Raptors. I also watched him bring his all-star friends to play charity games at Air Canada centre during the summer.

Carter averaged more than 20 points a game during a season 11 times during his career. He is an eight time all-star and led the NBA in all-star voting three times. He did the greatest dunk ever in Olympic history when he dunked over a 7’2 French center.

Now after 14 seasons, Carter is a 10 to 15 point a game player coming of the bench. He is playing for his fifth team. Vince Carter is just hanging on and collecting a pay cheque. No more highlight plays or did you see that type plays by Carter. He is hanging around the 3 point line and shooting with no intention of driving to the basket.

Carter is presently in 36^th place on the NBA All-Time scoring leaders. He may move up to about 31^st all-time by the beginning of next year. Lebron James is only 2 000 points behind him. James has only played 10 seasons and is now 47^th on the All-time scoring list.

I believe once Carter retires from the NBA that the Toronto Raptors should retire his jersey. Yes, he made the Raptors relevant for a few years in the NBA. The Toronto Raptors were a competitive and exciting team mainly due to him. He left a bad taste with Raptors fans when he quit on the team. Personally that doesn’t change my opinion.

I don’t think he had enough great seasons to be a member of the NBA Hall of Fame.

Vince Carter will become a player I will say, what if he dedicated himself to off season workouts and had the desire to be the best? The answer to those questions is what separates Kobe Bryant from the Vince Carter types.

Do you agree with me that The Raptors jersey number #15 worn by Vince Carter should be retired by the Toronto Raptors?

Enjoy your day!

The Los Angeles Lakers are 9 – 12 …

Coach Mike D’Antoni’s dream turned into a nightmare. The roster he is presently coaching has on it the youngest player in history to reach the 30 000 plateau, a former 2 time NBA MVP award winner, 3 time defensive player of the year, 4 time rebounding champion, players who have made the all-star team a multitude of times, and multiple members who won at least 1 NBA title.

Kobe Bryant is scoring 28.6 points a game. Steve Nash has been hurt. Dwight Howard is scoring 18.4 points and 11.7 rebounds a game. Pau Gasol is scoring 12.6 and 8.8 rebounds a game. Gasol has been put on injury list due to knee tendinitis.

Despite the injuries, there is enough talent on the team to win most nights. What is wrong? Howard doesn’t have a post game, which means the perimeter players are not getting open 3’s. Gasol should be the number one post option because he can score with his back to the basket and is a good passer.

The Lakers’ defense, which is anchored by Howard, World Peace, and Bryant, hasn’t been good. The team defense has been atrocious. They never replaced Matt Barnes or Trevor Ariza, who can defend against quick players on the wing on a nightly basis and hit a three-point shot when necessary.

The Los Angeles Lakers would be making a huge mistake if they traded Gasol to the Raptors for players who have never won anything in the NBA (Andrea Barganni and Jose Calderon). A healthy Gasol and Nash will help the Lakers dangerous in the playoffs.

I have no doubt that the Lakers will make the playoffs.

Will the Lakers win a playoff round?

Enjoy your day!

 

Kobe Bryant the NBA greatest…

Kobe Bryant is the NBA’s greatest scorer to have never played college basketball. Some will say LeBron James is better than Bryant. I’m only talking about one aspect of basketball, which is scoring. LeBron James will be the greatest player to have never played college basketball.

Remember when the Charlotte Hornets drafted Bryant 17 years ago and he demanded to be traded? Who would have thought this player would eventually score over 30 000 points?

In the NBA history there have only been 4 members of this exclusive club: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (36), Karl Malone (36), Michael Jordan (38) and Wilt Chamberlain (35). Kobe Bryant is the youngest in the group to hit the 30 000 plateau at 34.

Bryant still has 63 games remaining to score a minimum of 25 points a game, which would add 1 575 points to his total. He could surpass Wilt Chamberlain by year’s end, Michael Jordan by the 30 game mark of next season, and Karl Malone in 4 years. At that point he would have one player left to surpass to become the greatest NBA scorer of all-time. This feat may take him until his 40’s to accomplish.

Bryant works really hard at his craft, keeps his body fit and has the desire to be the greatest scorer. I have no doubt he will be the NBA’s All-Time leading scorer.

Do you think Kobe Bryant will make it to number 1?

Enjoy your day!